If there is something that stole away the limelight of Ranbir Kapoor's Sanju, that happens to be India's first Netflix show, Sacred Games. Created by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, Sacred Games is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Vikram Chandra. Saif Ali Khan, Radhika Apte and Nawazuddin Siddiqui play the leads in the show based in Mumbai, that shows the city's transformation from the '80s to the present day, as it grapples with riots, underworld and terrorism.

There is a reason why Sacred Games is getting so much love from the critics, as well as those who have binge-watched the show - it is well-executed, well-acted, intriguing and quite bold (features enough foul language, violence and nudity). It is a show that India can be proud of when it comes to comparing with international benchmarks, though we still have a long way to go there. Sacred Games has its flaws, but it has the potential to be one of the best series in the world. After all, it's just the first season. Even Breaking Bad needed to reach the third season to gain the honour of being the best show ever!

The first season ends with (SPOILER ALERT) Saif's character discovering how the terrorists plan to destroy the city. Saif had earlier spoken about how Sacred Games has a four-season arc. While we don't know if the makers have enough material to stretch itself to three more seasons, the second season is inevitable. So here are some suggestions that we wish the show-runners would use for the upcoming season to improve the viewing experience. After all even perfection needs improvement!

Compelling Female Lead (who lives)

Sacred Games does boast of some excellent female characters, like Kubbra Sait's enigmatic Kukoo, Rajshri Deshpande's feisty Subhadra, Shalini Vatsa as the bossy Kanta Bai. But Radhika Apte's RAW officer Anjali Mathur disappoints as a character, in spite of the actress' best efforts. Despite being promoted as one of the three main leads, she is often pushed towards the sidelines and only comes on her own towards the end of the first season. But before things got interesting for her, the show bumps off her character. The other female leads that got similar treatment were Kukoo and Subhadra. Going in the second season, we would want the makers to have a compelling female lead, who can go well against the protagonists. We don't mind Elnaaz Norouzi's smartly seductive Zoya to get into that capacity!

Rein in predictability

While the show is intriguing on a whole, there are quite predictable sequences and the manner of narration. You know how things will end for constable Katekar (a wonderful Jitendra Joshi) when he has a change of heart. Or what's with the fate of the mysteriously missing Trivedi. Or how many times Sartaj gets caught by the villains while trying to sneak upon them. While we understand that the makers want to stick to the book as close as possible, these issues can be avoided by better execution.

Lesser episodes to avoid bloat

This is a problem that affects not just Sacred Games, but Netflix as a whole (for reference, see what they do with the Marvel shows like Jessica Jones and Luke Cage). While eight episodes seem short considering the material in hand, we only realise towards the end that the story is not contained within a season. If the makers are trying to aim for a four-season arc, like Saif once revealed, it's better to go with a lesser number of episodes to make things tighter.

An enigmatic villain

Sacred Games has interesting characters with many of them like Neeraj Kabi's DCP Parulkar, Aamir Bashir's Majid Khan and even Nawaz's Gaitonde making some good anti-heroes. Then there is Luke Kenny's chilling killer, Malcolm, and Karan Wahi's bratty actor, Karan Malhotra. But what Sacred Games needs to make things even better is an enigmatic villain, an overlord sort of a person. Perhaps Pankaj Tripathy's Guruji, who was seen in a cameo in the first season, can rectify this vacancy. Or make Malcolm a more dangerous presence like Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men.

Bring a sense of urgency

This is an issue with the Sartaj Singh part of the narrative. The cop is given 25 days to save the city, and till the very end of the show, he has no clue as to how this will happen. But there is no sense of urgency about the fact he is in a race against time to save Mumbai and its inhabitants. The show ends with 17 days more for the disaster to strike, so it feels like the makers are in no hurry to put tension in this narrative.

Agree with our views on how Sacred Games can be improved? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 08, 2018 06:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).